Taylor, Kasim and Poole set to make first Cobblers appearances against Birmingham City

Jeremy Casey

New signings Ashton Taylor, Regan Poole and Yaser Kasim are all set to play for the Cobblers for the first time on Friday night.

The trio are in line to feature in Town’s friendly against Birmingham City Under-23s at the Oliva Nova complex in Spain (ko 5.30pm), having enjoyed a good week of training with their new team-mates.

All three were left out of last Saturday’s opening victory over Sileby Rangers as Justin Edinburgh felt they weren’t ready for match play, but the Town boss is looking forward to seeing them in action.

“All of the new players have integrated into the squad really well this week and it will be good for the players who didn’t play against Sileby to get 45 minutes under their belt,” said Edinburgh.

“Regardless of the result we want to finish the week on a high. Hopefully we will get through the game without picking up any injuries and then we look forward to getting back home.

“The games start to come thick and fast when we get back and we will continue to build up the players’ minutes to ensure that everyone is in tip top shape ready for the first game of the season.”

Goalkepper David Cornell is put through his paces by goalkeeper coach Jim Hollman in Spain (Picture: Pete Norton)

Town were easay 8-2 winners over the UCL opponents at Fernie Fields last weekend, but the Cobblers boss is anticipating a much sterner challenge against the Blues’ youngsters, who have also spent the past week training at Oliva Nova.

“Each player will get another 45 minutes each against Birmingham, no disrespect to Sileby but it’s a step up in opposition and Birmingham will pose a bigger threat,” said Edinburgh.

“Technically we expect them to be good and it’s another important test for us.”

The Town manager has been delighted with how the week jas progressed on the east coast of Spain, and paid tribute to the efforts of head physio Anders Braastad and fitness coach Pablo Garcia in getting the squad in top shape.

All of the new players have integrated into the squad really well this week and it will be good for the players who didn’t play against Sileby to get 45 minutes under their belt

Cobblers boss Justin Edinburgh

“It’s been a really good week so far and the players’ work ethic has been fantastic,” said Edinburgh.

“We’ve had some really tough sessions but the players have given everything their all and I couldn’t have asked for anything more from them.

“Recovery is just as important as the work we’ve done and I feel we’ve got the balance right.

“Preparation and planning for pre-season started at the end of last season,

“Pablo and Anders have been a big part of that and everything has been seamless really.”

Cobblers supporters who have made the trip to Spain will be able to watch the team’s clash with Birmingham, and they were also at Oliva Nova on Thursday night to watch an open training session.

They then enjoyed a barbecue with Edinburgh and the first team squad, with Billy Waters treating them to a rendition of his initiation song, Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader.